# Dawn Patrol vs RBLD®

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RBLD® at none against Dawn Patrol's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Dawn Patrol sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month. RBLD® asks for nothing beyond the download.

Dawn Patrol ships an update every 10 days, RBLD® weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Dawn Patrol | RBLD® |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (4.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dawn-patrol/id1161014179/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4.2K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 49.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 290 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dawn Patrol Surf Tracking](https://appshunter.io/developer/1448740824) | [Rebuild Labs Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/6777171347) |

## What reviewers say

### Dawn Patrol

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dawn-patrol/id1161014179)

Track and analyze your surfing sessions with detailed metrics like wave count, speed, and distance. Integrates with Apple Watch and HealthKit for comprehensive workout data. Premium features offer advanced analytics and tide-wave correlations.

**Highlights:** Track and analyze surf sessions, Record surf workouts, Count waves and measure distance, View surf sessions on a map, Integrates with Apple Watch and HealthKit, Surfline forecast integration, Advanced surf analytics

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Soul Surfer (Monthly) | $3.49 | per month |
| Soul Surfer (Yearly) | $27.49 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Accurate wave tracking
- 👍 Useful data and analytics
- 🔒 Integrates well with Apple Watch
- 💡 Innovative features like Surfline integration
- 👍 Aesthetically pleasing interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent wave tracking and GPS accuracy
- 🔋 High battery drain on Apple Watch
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Paywall for basic features like tide information
- 👎 Poor customer support responsiveness

**Reported bugs**

- Apple Watch complications not working properly
- Incorrect wind/tide data displayed
- Sessions not syncing correctly with phone app
- App crashing on newer iOS/watchOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add distance paddled metric
- Allow manual editing of recorded waves
- Improve Strava integration
- Provide option to lock app to specific location


### RBLD®

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rbld/id6777171345)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Dawn Patrol free?

Dawn Patrol is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is RBLD® free?

RBLD® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Dawn Patrol or RBLD® have ads?

Neither Dawn Patrol nor RBLD® shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Dawn Patrol or RBLD®?

Dawn Patrol ships an update every 10 days, and RBLD® weekly. Most recently, Dawn Patrol was updated on November 2, 2026 and RBLD® on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*
